A Reddit User Claims to Have the Cup That Started the Malice at the Palace in 2004

Early last month, we named the infamous Malice at the Palacethe most unsportsmanlike act in sports history. And we're sticking to that. The gigantic fight that took place between the Pacers and the Pistons—and, further, the Pacers and the Pistons fans—back in November 2004 still haunts the NBA. It was a crazy event that we still can't believe happened.

But it did. And it happened, at least in part, because of a cup. A blue souvenir cup that was given away to thousands of fans who attended the Pacers/Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills that night. And now, a Reddit user is claiming that he has the cup that was thrown at Ron Artest that triggered the Malice at the Palace in the first place.

The man has absolutely no way of proving that the cup he has is the one that was actually thrown at Artest (remember, smartphones didn't really exist back then). But he does have a relatively convincing story.

"4 minutes after the players had left for the locker rooms," he writes. "Mason, the announcer, and other police/security guards were demanding we all leave in a calm fashion as quickly as possible. I had to retrieve that Cup. I had in my mind the idea that if I myself were to get it, I would be pepper sprayed or some sort of force would be taken upon me. So, being the kind hearted gentleman I am, I asked my girlfriend to lunge for it. She obliged immediately, and simply walked down to the court and picked it up. At this point, security was not within 100 feet of us, and the Cup itself was still laying where it had been for a good 10 minutes. She picks it up, still with traces of liquid in it, which was not alcohol but definitely a soda of some sort. She hands it to me, I tell her to place it in her purse. The three of us leave with gusto."

So do you believe the guy? Is the cup pictured above the one that started the Malice at the Palace? We'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now because, at the very least, he took the time to come up with a cool story based on the cup. But that doesn't mean we're going to place a bid on it when it eventually ends up on eBay, even if it is one of the most famous souvenir cups in sports history.